Combination wrench



April 23, 1963 G. NARD] 3,086,414

COMBINATION WRENCH Filed March 1, 1961 United States Patent Ofifice3,086,414 Patented Apr. 23, 1963 3,086,414 COMBINATION WRENCH Guy Nardi,496' Main St, Hanson, Mass. Filed Mar. 1, 1961, Ser. No. 92,564 2Claims. (Cl. 81-90) The present invention relates to a combinationwrench.

The invention is herein disclosed as embodied in a socket type wrenchconsisting of a cylindrical stem, the free end of which has formedtherein an axial bore of a diameter sufficient to provide clearance forthe screw to which the nut is to be threaded, and a plurality of cutaway portions, together with an arrangement of internal contact surfacesand walls which will adapt the wrench for locking engagement with nutsof all standard types which may be applied to the particular screw.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a simpleand eilective construction of a se-called socket type wrench which willreadily adapt the wrench for use with all of the standard type nutswhich may be interchangeably used with a screw of a given diameter andpitch including square nuts, hexagonal nuts, wing nuts, and four prongedwing-type nuts.

With the above and other objects in view as may hereinafter appear theseveral features of the invention will be readily understood by oneskilled in the art from the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of a combination wrench embodyingtherein the several features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the nut engaging end of the combinationwrench;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on a line 3-3- of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on a line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on a line 5-5 of FIG. 3, the wrenchbeing shown in engagement with a hexagonal nut;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on a line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the combination wrench taken similar tothat of FIG. 6, but with a square nut engaged by the wrench;

FIG. 8 is a perspective. view of a four-pronged wingtype nut;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a wing nut;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the combination wrench taken on the line1010 of FIG. 3, and with the four pronged nut of FIG. 8 engaged by thewrench; and

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on a line 11 of FIG. 10.

The combination wrench shown in the drawings as embodying in a preferredform the several features of the invention comp-rises a stem 20 havingan enlarged nut engaging head 22, and at the opposite end a squaredportion 24 for attachment to a suitable socket wrench handle (notshown).

The tool is formed with an axial bore 26 of sufiicient diameter toprovide clearance for the threaded end of the screw 27 (see FIGS. 5 and10) to which the nut or nuts are applied, and of :suflicient depth topermit the turning down of a nut to any desired depth on the screw. Thestandard toilet seat hinge fixture for which the tool has been foundmost useful is normally provided with a screw of standard pitch whichmay be roughly 2%" in length. The bore 26 is preferably 2 /2 inches inlength and has a diameter of approximately $1 to provide the clearancereferred to.

The nut engaging head 22 of the wrench is formed with four radial slots28 which connect with the central bore 26 and are of substantial lengthto receive the prongs of the four prong type nut 29 (FIGS. 10 and 11) ashereinafter more fully pointed out. The inner faces of the fourprojections provided by the slotting operation are slabbed off toprovide the four sides 32 of a socket for a square nut 34 as shown inFIG. 7. Each side 32 is further formed with a notch 36, said notchesproviding with the surfaces 32 a socket well adapted to receive ahexagonal nut 38 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The socket chamber providedby the surfaces 32 is further formed at its bottom end with a transverseledge 40 which provides a seat for each of the square nut 34 and thehexagonal nut 38 above described. The ledge 40 is formed preferably bymeans of an initial large size bore having a diameter substantiallyequal to the distance between opposite sides 32 of the socket, andextending downwardly approximately the thickness of said square nut 34to form the ledge 49. From an inspection of the drawings it will be seenthat the slots 28 extend a substantial distance below the ledge 40correspondingly increasing the length of the slots 28.

The socket provided by side walls 32 and ledge 40 is also made availableby virtue of the downwardly extending slots 28 for engaging and turningup wing nuts 44, and more specifically, a four-pronged nut 29 of thegeneral type shown in FIGS. 8, 10 and 11 in which the prongs 48 extendupwardly a substantial distance from the base portion 50 of the nut.

The wrench is engaged with -a wing nut in the following manner. Theouter rim 52 of the nut is engaged against the end of the wrench. Theupwardly extending base portion 53 of the nut projects into the socketprovided by the four side walls 32 and may test against the ledge 40.The wing portions '56 of the nut 44 project into the lower portions ofthe slots 28. The nut is securely keyed to the wrench by the engagementof the wing portions 56 in said slots. In the event that a wing nut nothaving the outer rim 52 is used the nut will rest against the ledge 40,the wing portions 56 extending outwardly and downwardly into the lowerportions of the opposed slots 28.

The wrench is engaged with the four-pronged nut 29 in a manner shownspecifically in FIGS. 10 and 11. The bottom flange 58 of the nut isengaged against the end of the wrench. The upwardly extending baseportion 60 of the nut projects into the socket provided by the sidewalls 32 and may rest against ledge 40. Each of the four prongs 48 isengaged in one of the four slots 28 projecting beyond the level of theledge 40. With this arrangement the nut 29 is firmly keyed to the wrenchby the arrangement of the prongs 48 in their respective slots 30.

It may be noted in connection with the construction of the internalsurfaces of the socket wrench above described, that a bore 64 of anintermediate diameter somewhat larger than the diameter of the bore 26is formed within the head 22 which extends downwardly through the socketto the same extent as each of the slots 30, thus providing an apertureof somewhat larger diameter than is provided by the central bore .26,but not suflicient to weaken or unduly narrow the-ledge 40. Thisenlarged diameter has the advantage that it is made somewhat easier toengage the wrench over the end of the screw 27 especially underconditions where the operators vision may be impeded. This somewhatlarger diameter 64 also has the advantage that it will accommodate nutswhich might be encountered having an unusually long tapered bodyportion, as for example, a castle nut. This enlarged diameter bore 64 isalso of advantage to accommodate a common type of wing nut of which theupper surface of the hub is rounded or tapered. This rounded surface-wi1l fit readily into the space provided by the enlarged bore 64.

The invention having been described what is claimed is:

1. A combination wrench for accommodating interchangeably square nuts,hexagonal nuts, wing nuts and prong nuts having a common internal threaddiameter, said wrench comprising a stern having a central bore ofslightly larger diameter and of greater length than the diameter of thescrew fitting said common internal nut thread diameter, said stem havingfour equally spaced radial slots extending longitudinally from the openend of the bore forming peripheral segments of said stem having parallelseparating faces, said segments having flat inner surfaces and a ledgeat the lower end of said surfaces to form a square nut socket into whicha square nut is (fitted so that said inner surfaces engage the foursides of said square nut, the central portion of each said flat innersurface having a longitudinal groove opening at 120 to receive cornersof hexagonal nuts fitted into said wrench so that two opposed said innersurfaces will engage two opposed sides of a hexagonal nut and thelongitudinal grooves of the remaining opposed inner surfaces willreceive the two cross-diagonally located corners of said hexagonal nut,and said slots extending longitudinally of the stern substantiallybeyond said ledge to receive between said parallel faces the wings ofwing nuts and the prongs of four prong nuts.

2. A combination wrench according to claim 1 in which the stem isprovided with a central bore of which the diameter of the cylindricalinner surface of said bore between said ledge and the ends of saidradial slots is greater than the diameter of the remaining portion ofsaid bore.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS499,863 Walker et al June 20, 1893 1,397,876 Meldal Nov. 22, 19211,867,372 McGuckin July 12, 1932 2,445,905 Busby July 27, 1948 2,909,090Moore Oct. 20, 1959

1. A COMBINATION WRENCH FOR ACCOMMODATING INTERCHANGEABLY SQUARE NUTS,HEXAGONAL NUTS, WING NUTS AND PRONG NUTS HAVING A COMMON INTERNAL THREADDIAMETER, SAID WRENCH COMPRISING A STEM HAVING A CENTRAL BORE OFSLIGHTLY LARGER DIAMETER AND OF GREATER LENGTH THAN THE DIAMETER OF THESCREW FITTING SAID COMMON INTERNAL NUT THREAD DIAMETER, SAID STEM HAVINGFOUR EQUALLY SPACED RADIAL SLOTS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY FROM THE OPENEND OF THE BORE FORMING PERIPHERAL SEGMENTS OF SAID STEM HAVING PARALLELSEPARATING FACES, SAID SEGMENTS HAVING FLAT INNER SURFACES AND A LEDGEAT THE LOWER END OF SAID SURFACES TO FORM A SQUARE NUT SOCKET INTO WHICHA SQUARE NUT IS FITTED SO THAT SAID INNER SURFACES ENGAGE THE FOUR SIDESOF SAID SQUARE NUT, THE CENTRAL PORTION OF EACH SAID FLAT INNER SURFACEHAVING A LONGITUDINAL GROOVE OPENING AT 120* TO RECEIVE CORNERS OFHEXAGONAL NUTS FITTED INTO SAID WRENCH SO THAT TWO OPPOSED SAID INNERSURFACES WILL ENGAGE TWO OPPOSED SIDES OF A HEXAGONAL NUT AND THELONGITUDINAL GROOVES OF THE REMAINING OPPOSED INNER SURFACES WILLRECEIVE THE TWO CROSS-DIAGONALLY LOCATED CORNERS OF SAID HEXAGONAL NUT,AND SAID SLOTS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF THE STEM SUBSTANTIALLY BEYONDSAID LEDGE TO RECEIVE BETWEEN SAID PARALLEL FACES THE WINGS OF WING NUTSAND THE PRONGS OF FOUR PRONG NUTS.